After a day of sailing, Rono arrived in the waters near the small town by the afternoon of the second day.
"Pirates incoming!"
Chaos erupted at the docks. By the time Rono reached the harbor, dozens of fully armed Marines were already stationed at the port.
"Crazy Sword Pirate Crew, what do you think you're doing?! The Rear Admiral is on his way! Do you want to be thrown into prison?!"
Rono jumped up onto the ship's wheel and raised both hands.
"Wait, wait! It's a misunderstanding—I'm a bounty hunter. I killed the entire Crazy Sword Pirate Crew. I'm just here to collect the reward."
"Oh? So young, and you claim to have wiped out the entire Crazy Sword Crew?" Rear Admiral Cassel had just arrived. After hearing Rono's claim, he quickly assessed the situation.
"Oh, I get it. A few days ago, they tried to raid a merchant ship and ran into the Sapphire. They fled with their tails between their legs. This kid must've gotten lucky—if he's telling the truth."
"Do you have any proof?" Cassel asked in a deep voice.
"Of course I do!"
Rono began tossing the corpses from his deck onto the dock one by one. Cassel signaled with his eyes, and a Marine with a rifle ran over to examine them.
"Report, Rear Admiral—confirmation complete. These are indeed officers from the Crazy Sword Pirate Crew."
Cassel nodded. Honestly, he had guessed as much from the very first body. The examination was just a formality.
"You can collect the bounty from Marine Headquarters. But tell me—have you considered joining the Marines? Help fight pirates and bring peace to these seas?"
"Sure, why not? Let's go."
Without hesitation, Rono leaped down from the wheel and started walking toward the town.
"You don't have to answer so quickly… You could've taken your time and thought it over… We could've—"
Wait, he agreed?! I was just making small talk! I even prepared a whole speech! And now you're just casually walking off like it's nothing?! You little punk, I haven't even approved you yet!
Rear Admiral Cassel froze for a second. But being a seasoned officer, he quickly composed himself.
"Alright then. Do you know the way?"
Rono, already several meters ahead, stopped in his tracks, silently retraced his steps, and stood beside the group of Marines, looking forward with a blank expression like a soldier at attention.
Everyone: "..."
Cassel took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to complain, and ordered his men to clean up the bodies before leading the group back to base.
"Name."
"Rono. Wolfe Rono."
"Age."
"Fifteen."
"Height."
"About 1.84 meters. I think I've grown taller recently."
"Devil Fruit User?"
"Yup, yup." …
The medical report was completed quickly. Since the world of One Piece lacked modern diagnostic equipment, everything was self-reported.
Under the guidance of a staff officer, Rono received two sets of Marine uniforms, some personal supplies, and a bank card loaded with bounty money totaling nearly 50 million.
Had he been a Marine at the time, the kills would've been recorded as military merits—meaning no monetary reward. But since he was still a bounty hunter when he took them down, the bounty had to be paid in full.
Of course, even if Rono wanted to convert the kills to official Marine credit now, it wouldn't be allowed. The Navy would never grant a mysterious kid a promotion right off the bat.
In the office, Cassel lit a cigar as he looked at two reports in front of him.
The first was the medical report, which he skimmed over. He then focused on the second one.
"A petty thief from Crescent Village. Just went out to sea about half a month ago. Suddenly shows extraordinary strength. According to Captain Asiya of the Sapphire, he trained hard every day. But a year ago, the villagers described him as a lazy bum. There's a high chance this sudden growth is due to a Devil Fruit ability."
This information had been gathered over the past few days. Normally, the Navy wouldn't dig this deep—but Rono was different. What kind of rookie can solo an entire pirate crew?
If he turned out to be a spy sent by a major pirate group, there'd be no chance of promoting him to a higher rank. It would call for a full-blown investigation.
Cassel read over the report again carefully, then pulled a Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) from the drawer and dialed a series of numbers.
"Brrr… brrr… click."
"Moshi Moshi, this is Marine Headquarters. Rear Admiral Cassel, what can I do for you?"
"It's like this…" Rear Admiral Cassel explained Rono's situation over the line, ending with his assessment.
"This kid is incredibly gifted. If the intel is accurate, he achieved this level of strength after just a year of training. I recommend initiating Class B surveillance. If his background checks out, he might reach admiral-level strength in less than ten years!" As he spoke, Cassel's tone turned serious and hushed, clearly afraid someone might overhear.
"…"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Cassel's facial expression perfectly, its brows furrowed and lips tightly pursed.
"We'll need to verify the situation. HQ will send someone to investigate." The voice on the other end still sounded skeptical.
"Thanks in advance."
Cassel hung up, snuffed out his cigar, and called for an orderly.
"Tell that private who arrived two days ago to come see me."
About ten minutes later, the red-haired boy kicked the door open.
"Hey, old man! What do you want? I was on my way to the arena!"
"…"
Cassel was speechless.
Old man? I'm only thirty! And what's with that casual tone? Since when were we this familiar?
"You damaged government property. Go pay the fine later," Cassel said flatly, pointing to the now-broken office door.
...Why did I feel oddly satisfied just now? No, no—that must be a mistake. I'm a righteous Marine. I'm just overworked. I should probably file for vacation…
"…So, old man, you called me here for that?"
Rono's face was full of mock solemnity, practically saying: If you hadn't called me, would I have kicked the door down?
Cassel cleared his throat. "Ahem, of course not. Look, kid—I can see your talent. Here's a recommendation letter to Marine Headquarters. Not for a million, not even 998,000 Berries—take it home today for the low price of free! What do you say? Interested? I'm giving you a discount!"
"…"
"I'm going to pay the fine."
Rono turned around and walked out without looking back.
A gust of wind blew through the window as Rear Admiral Cassel stood dumbfounded, the recommendation letter still in his hand.
This is a recommendation to Marine HQ!
How could he turn that down? Isn't that the holy land for all Marines?
"Hey, hey! Don't go! Fine—100,000! Here, take it!"
Cassel, face contorted with pain, thrust the letter toward Rono.
Rono's only response was to walk faster.
Just as he was about to step out of the office, Cassel panicked.
"Alright, alright, you little brat! You don't want to pay? Fine! You win!"
With a flick of his wrist, he threw the envelope toward Rono's head—
And it got stuck. In his head.
"...Crap. Crap, crap, crap! Did I just kill him?"
Cassel froze mid-throw, completely petrified.
"I'm not paying for the door now."
Rono turned around and said coolly, completely unfazed by the envelope lodged in the back of his head. He casually pulled it out and stuffed it into the breast pocket of his Marine uniform before continuing toward the arena.
Cassel nodded dumbly, watching him leave the office in stunned silence.